New details emerge about 14-year-old suspect and victims in deadliest school shooting of the year

Just weeks into the new school year, classrooms and hallways became sites of carnage and horror when a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, left four people dead.

Wednesday’s mass shooting was the 45th school shooting in the U.S. this year since the March 2023 massacre at The Covenant School in Nashville that left six people dead.

In Georgia, a 14-year-old student is suspected of killing two students and two teachers with an AR-based weapon. Nine others were hospitalized.

Live News: Latest on Georgia High School Shooting

As another community mourns a senseless school shooting, investigators are revealing more details about the case. Here’s what we know:

How the devastation happened

The suspect left his Algebra 1 class at about 9:45 a.m., his classmate Lyela Sayarath told CNN. The classroom door automatically locks, and at the end of the class, the suspect knocked on the door to try to get back in, Lyela said.

Another student went to answer the door but apparently saw the gun and refused to let him in, Lyela said. That distraction may have saved her life.

“I think he wanted to come to us first,” Lyela said.

Instead, the gunman turned toward a nearby classroom and opened fire. “We heard about 10 to 15 shots, one right after the other,” Lyela said.

The first report of the shooting came in at about 10:20 a.m. Georgia Bureau of Investigations Director Chris Hosey said two school police officers and other law enforcement officers quickly arrived at the scene.

One of the school’s security officers confronted the shooter, who surrendered and was arrested, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.

The suspect, Colt Gray, was being held Thursday at the Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Centers, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice told CNN. He will make his first court appearance Friday, department spokesman Glenn Allen said.

Beloved teachers and students died

Two 14-year-old students, Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, went to school and never returned home.

The shooter also killed 53-year-old math teacher Christina Irimie and 39-year-old math teacher and assistant football coach Richard Aspinwall.

“We are truly heartbroken,” Christian’s older sister, Lisette Angulo, wrote on a GoFundMe page to support the family. “He was a very good kid, very sweet and caring. He was so loved by so many.”

Another verified GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family of Aspinwall, a beloved football coach.

“To our beloved defensive coordinator Ricky Aspinwall, we will carry you close to our hearts. We love you Coach A’s!!!” Apalachee Football posted X on Thursday.

The Apalachee team’s home soccer game on Friday has been canceled, its opponent announced on Facebook.

In addition to the fatalities, nine people were injured and taken to hospital, authorities said.

Those patients are expected to recover and “we do not expect any additional fatalities at this time,” Smith said Wednesday evening.

The sheriff said it is not yet clear whether the attacker knew his victims or specifically targeted them.

The employees notified the police using their identification cards.

The school’s faculty and staff are “heroes in the actions they took,” Hosey said. “The protocols in place at this school and the system that was put in place today prevented this from becoming a much bigger tragedy than what we had.”

One of these protocols included a safety measure adopted just a week ago.

“All of our teachers are armed with Centegix ID,” Smith said Wednesday night. Centegix notifies law enforcement “when the buttons on the ID are pressed, and it lets us know that there is an active situation at the school for some reason and that button has been pressed.”

Centegix’s website says the tool offers “dynamic digital mapping, real-time location capabilities, an easy-to-use panic button for school and district staff, a school visit management system, and secure student connection capabilities that help teachers plan for and respond to emergencies more quickly.”

Several states, including Georgia, have introduced regulations regarding alarm systems, CNN reports.

Teen suspect carried AR-style weapon, authorities say

The 14-year-old suspect, Gray, is in custody and will likely be tried as an adult, GBI officials and the Barrow County sheriff said.

The weapon used in the shooting was an AR-platform weapon, Hosey said Wednesday night. A law enforcement official previously told CNN it was an AR-15-style rifle.

Authorities have not released any information about how the gun or ammunition was obtained. However, investigators have spoken with the suspect and have been in contact with his family, Smith said.

It is also unclear when or how the suspect brought the rifle to the school.

“We’re still trying to piece together a lot of the details of the timeline from when he came to school (Wednesday) to the incident,” Hosey said.

Suspect previously questioned by authorities

According to a joint statement from the FBI Atlanta and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Gray was questioned by law enforcement last year in response to “anonymous tips regarding online threats of a school shooting.” The online threats included images of a gun.

But agencies say Gray has denied making threats online.

“The father stated he had a hunting gun in the home, but the suspect did not have unfettered access to it,” the agencies said. At the time, “there was no probable cause for an arrest or any additional law enforcement action at the local, state or federal level.”

Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum released more details about the case hours after the shooting on Wednesday.

“The FBI confirmed that in May 2023, it received an anonymous tip regarding threats posted on an online gaming website,” Mangum wrote on Facebook. “Within less than 24 hours, the FBI determined the post originated in Georgia, and an FBI field officer forwarded the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division for action.”

Shortly thereafter, the sheriff’s office located and interviewed the 13-year-old boy and his father, Mangum wrote.

“The 13-year-old denied making online threats,” the sheriff wrote. “A thorough investigation was conducted. The investigation was unable to substantiate any threats made regarding the gaming site. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has notified local schools to continue monitoring this individual.”

Questions about threats arise before the school

Before the mass shooting, students at Apalachee High School received a threatening phone call earlier in the morning, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN.

The call warned of shootings at five schools, with Apalachee being the first. It is unclear who made the call.

Investigators found no evidence that other schools were targeted, but they are “exploring any leads on potential accomplices of the shooter who was involved in this incident,” Hosey said.

“I really don’t want to go back”

Barrow County schools will be closed for the rest of the week as the district’s 15,000 students deal with a tragedy that comes just one month into the school year.

Some Apalachee High School students admit they are anxious about returning to school.

“I want to go to school worrying about what my grade point average will be when my year is over and worrying about my career,” said 14-year-old Macey Right.

“I really don’t want to go back. I feel like I shouldn’t go back to school worrying about dying.”

CNN’s Isabel Rosales, John Miller, Nick Valencia, Rebekah Riess, David Williams, Dakin Andone, Sharif Paget, Melissa Alonso, Andy Rose, Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury, Tori B. Powell, Sara Smart and Nouran Salahieh contributed to this report.

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